NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection

Comet Hale-Bopp Over Indian Cove

Comet Hale-Bopp, the Great Comet of 1997 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…comet 1997 ], was quite a sight. No comets [ http://www.nineplan…] of comparable brightness have graced the skies of Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] since then. During this next month, however, even besides the fleeting Comet Bradfield [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], "two" comets have a slight chance of rivaling Hale-Bopp [ http://www2.jpl.nas…] and a good chance of putting on a memorable [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] sky show. Unfortunately, most of the show will be confined to sky gazers in Earth's southern hemisphere [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. Both comets are already visible [ http://encke.jpl.na…] to the unaided eye from there. The first, Comet C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) [ http://cometography…], should be at its best before dawn during the first weeks of May from the south. The second, Comet C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) [ http://cometography…], should be visible in early May from all over the Earth. Both comets [ http://www.space.co…] appear to be approaching [ http://skyandtelesc…] the inner Solar System [ http://www.nineplan…] for the first time and so it is very hard to predict [ http://www.explorat…] how bright each will become. In the above photograph [ http://www2.jpl.nas…] taken 1997 April 6, Comet Hale-Bopp was imaged from the Indian Cove Campground in the Joshua Tree National Forest [ http://www.nps.gov/…] in California [ http://www.state.ca…], USA [ http://www.cia.gov/…]. A flashlight [ http://www.geocitie…] was used to momentarily illuminate foreground rocks during this six minute exposure.

Wally Pacholka [ http://www.astropic…] (Astropics) Wally Pacholka

1997

California

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Earth

COMETS

Dawn

comet

Comet Hale-Bopp

Hale-Bopp Comet

1997

http://antwrp.gsfc.…

SPD-APOD-ap040420